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The relationship between tenure type and domestic retrofitting uptake in the UK
Get PDFThe housing stock in the UK is a significant contributor to greenhouse gases. To achieve the UK\u27s net-zero targets, a substantial upgrade to the thermal performance of existing dwellings (referred to as retrofitting) will be required. In addition to carbon emission, inefficient homes also present serious health and well-being issues for the occupants. The extent of retrofitting ahead requires significant monetary investment, and the responsibility for such investment ultimately lies with the housing stock owners. In the UK, housing stock can be owned by the occupiers, a private landlord, a local authority or a non-profit social housing association. Their capacity and willingness to uptake retrofitting differs significantly. This research aims to investigate the current status of the relationships between occupier tenure type and overall retrofitting uptake of UK dwellings as related to the uptake of individual retrofitting measures, energy performance and environmental impact. Data from 5000 dwellings in the UK identified by the English Housing Survey 2022 were analysed for their comparative performance under selected five different tenure types. Results highlighted a low level of retrofitting uptake, lower energy efficiency and higher environmental impacts from dwellings categorised as owner-occupied with no mortgage, whilst dwellings categorised under privately rented furnished performed best overall. Dwellings owned by social housing associations show high performance in terms of energy efficiency scores. Privately rented furnished dwellings are performing comparatively well in relation to levels of loft insulation and environmental impact ratings. Results suggest that future retrofitting support programmes should build on current progress, and tailor-made schemes need to be introduced to improve retrofitting uptake for low updating tenure types
A Review of \u3cem\u3eThe Cambridge History of The Australian Novel\u3cem\u3e (2023)
Get PDFThe Cambridge History of the Australian Novel offers thorough coverage of 200 years of writing, yet its broad scope in a single volume results in certain limitations. With 39 thematic chapters, some eras appear underrepresented, and there is a need for greater examination of popular genres and marginalized voices to provide a more comprehensive portrayal. The transnational approach helps to balance the persistent focus on canonical figures. Despite the limitations of this overview, the book serves as a crucial basis for further in-depth research
How do acoustic indices serve as proxy of temperate forests and in relation to presence of bobcat (Lynx rufus) in central Indiana habitats
Get PDFCentral Indiana is largely dominated by agriculture which has led to numerous historical extirpations of mammals. The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is slowly re-establishing across northern Indiana after near extirpation in the early 1900s and utilizes corridors similar to extirpated mammals. Bobcats as a focal species can serve as an indicator for habitat quality for future designated wildlife corridors. New metrics have emerged from species monitoring through remote sensing technologies such as eco-acoustic indices which summarize sound profiles, are a potential proxy for biodiversity, and could be utilized in monitoring large mammals. Here, we investigate the relationship between Lynx rufus and acoustic indices in Indiana temperate forests. We deployed camera traps and ARUs from May to July 2025 (n=9) to supplement collected data from 2023 to 2025 (n=24), collected habitat quality metrics using densiometers in a 30m grid, and computed distance metrics from sites to landscape features (e.g., water, human settlement, cropland). Then, from ARUs we computed acoustic indices and created a bobcat prey presence ordinal scale. We ran non-parametric correlations (Spearman\u27s Rank, Kendall\u27s Tau) and Poisson regression to test the relationship between generated species and acoustic indices by daily mean. Then, we ran a distance redundancy analysis between bobcat presence and prey presence, habitat metrics, and highly ranked acoustic indices. We found that highly ranked acoustic indices had significant habitat metrics that represent bobcat habitat suitability. It is important to continue researching bobcats to understand how habitat suitability in wildlife corridors can be effectively indicated by acoustic indices
Cost-Effective Active Laser Scanning System for Depth-Aware Deep-Learning-Based Instance Segmentation in Poultry Processing
Get PDFThe poultry industry plays a pivotal role in global agriculture, with poultry serving as a major source of protein and contributing significantly to economic growth. However, the sector faces challenges associated with labor-intensive tasks that are repetitive and physically demanding. Automation has emerged as a critical solution to enhance operational efficiency and improve working conditions. Specifically, robotic manipulation and handling of objects is becoming ubiquitous in factories. However, challenges exist to precisely identify and guide a robot to handle a pile of objects with similar textures and colors. This paper focuses on the development of a vision system for a robotic solution aimed at automating the chicken rehanging process, a fundamental yet physically strenuous activity in poultry processing. To address the limitation of the generic instance segmentation model in identifying overlapped objects, a cost-effective, dual-active laser scanning system was developed to generate precise depth data on objects. The well-registered depth data generated were integrated with the RGB images and sent to the instance segmentation model for individual chicken detection and identification. This enhanced approach significantly improved the model’s performance in handling complex scenarios involving overlapping chickens. Specifically, the integration of RGB-D data increased the model’s mean average precision (mAP) detection accuracy by 4.9% and significantly improved the center offset—a customized metric introduced in this study to quantify the distance between the ground truth mask center and the predicted mask center. Precise center detection is crucial for the development of future robotic control solutions, as it ensures accurate grasping during the chicken rehanging process. The center offset was reduced from 22.09 pixels (7.30 mm) to 8.09 pixels (2.65 mm), demonstrating the approach’s effectiveness in mitigating occlusion challenges and enhancing the reliability of the vision system
Cultivating Place-Based FEW-Nexus Awareness and Environmental Justice Through Community Science Data Talks
Get PDFGlobal challenges around food security, energy sustainability, and water scarcity demand interdisciplinary educational approaches. This project formed a network of universities collaborating with K–12 teachers to develop place-based Community Science Data Talks (CSDTs). These short, data-driven classroom activities highlight local FEW issues, emphasize environmental justice, and draw on students’ funds of knowledge and funds of feeling. Preliminary findings indicate enhanced student engagement, recognition of socioecological complexity, and constructive hope regarding community challenges. Ongoing work involves refining these modules, expanding geographical reach, and creating open-access resources for teachers. Ultimately, CSDTs foster data literacy and civic inquiry, both central to FEW-Nexus problem-solving
Integrating the FEW-Nexus into an Agricultural Issues Course
Get PDFTo address the global challenges facing the agricultural industry, graduates of agricultural degree programs must learn to utilize systems thinking skills, which can help them view the interconnectedness among issues and design holistic solutions. The Food-Energy-Water (FEW)-Nexus is an interdisciplinary framework that can support undergraduate student achievement of sustainability education competencies, including systems thinking. This project utilized the FEW-Nexus framework in an agricultural issues course to help students improve their systems thinking. Students were given lectures on various agricultural issues by experts in those areas. Two assignments, agricultural issue concept maps and critical reflections over each speaker’s session were completed by students. Analysis of these assignments showed that students were able to increase the complexity of their systems thinking. Providing students with a framework to guide their thinking about agricultural issues can be useful. Plans include collecting more data in the agricultural issues course to empirically examine students’ systems thinking skills. Additionally, we plan to integrate more activities using the FEW-Nexus into the course
Rosen Center for Advanced Computing: Facilities, Equipment, and Resources
Get PDFOverview of RCAC as the research computing arm of Information Technology at Purdue. Describes technical support services as well as collaboration resources in software development, integration, and hosting
A Language Narrative
Get PDFA Language Narrative is about the author\u27s own journey with the English language, fanfiction, online spaces, and the decision to be a writer